As the World Burns by Derrick Jensen and Stephanie McMillan
So it’s no secret that global warming is a bad thing, but what to do about it? Think that saving the earth is just for tree-hugging hippies? Well, maybe As the World Burns will be more your speed. It’s an irreverent look at the many factors that contribute to earth’s perilous situation, and what humans can do about it, told through the eyes (eye) of two snappy little girls, robot machines from space with government permission to eat the planet, and a one-eyed bunny on a crusade to liberate his fellow animal test-subjects from a corporate laboratory. And it’s a graphic novel with a pretty fantastic earth vs. robot battle at the end!
Kim is 16, an aspiring Wiccan witch, and an outsider at her private school in Canada. Then popular girl Katie Matthews gets dumped by her boyfriend and he commits suicide, sending the whole school into mourning overdrive. The guidance counselors provide lectures on the cycle of grief. The popular girls start a club called “Girls Celebrate Life.” And Kim possibly begins to fall in love…which only makes everything worse. Beautiful artwork and a subtly funny and real storyline bring this graphic novel to life.
In The Small by Michael Hague
On a normal day in September, the earth is bathed in a mysterious blue light. It only lasts a few moments, and then it subsides. Nothing seems to have been affected, except one species: humans are now less than 6 inches tall. They have become as insignificant as all of the advances of civilization, rendered instantly obsolete by unmanageable size. Some people quickly find themselves prey, others give up the will to live, but a few band together and struggle to survive. This graphic novel’s comic book panels make for a quick read but is no less thought-provoking. Read it and contemplate why size does matter.
The thing that makes this graphic novel so nifty, so intriguing, so above-average, is its many layers. It is a story about Long Tack Sam, a forgotten magician and hero of vaudeville theater. It is also the story of his great-granddaughter tracking clues and family members and piecing together his story, her family history, in an epic tale that spans the globe. And the artwork is just as layered. There are drawings, there are original photos, posters, letters, and a running timeline of other historical events occurring in the world alongside Sam’s own story. This is a beautiful and readable way to investigate the past, and may even inspire you to put together your own family story in a creative way.
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